sleep.slack.wakeboard.

Conversation of the week

2010-03-18T21:01:00.004+08:00

I have not laughed so hard and so many times in school in a while. Friends. we must hang out more. You guys are the only reason why I bother going to school. So there were so many jokes and killer-lines today... but I'm only going to type out this convo that happened in the library.

Me: That's the guy from class

J: Oh... I don't like that guy... didn't like him since FTB...

Me: Why u don't like him so much?

J: He's... just weird la... and he's my friend on facebook... I think I'm going to delete him from my friends list soon.

Me: What?!? So u're the type that quietly delete people off your facebook???

J: Nope.... he's going to be the first....

R: Then why u added him in the 1st place???

J: Coz... I was young and innocent then....

Do I still believe?

2010-03-06T15:27:00.002+08:00

How many blangas does it take to paint a ceiling?

2010-03-02T12:31:00.003+08:00

First and foremost, I am not trying to be racist here. Just a funny sight I saw in my house while I was heading out this morning.

Well, the answer to this questions is THREE.

One to paint the ceiling (duh!)

One to hold the ladder steady (for codes and conduct of safety I guess?)

One to help dip the brush in paint (is this dude really needed???)

I wonder if this is a sign of our economy. That it is actually not as bad as everything thinks? That we are really getting better?

Or is this just an inefficient use of resources?

But I guess me being in university and not paying attention in lectures is definitely an inefficient use of resources.

2010-02-19T03:05:00.005+08:00

[Owl City - Vanilla Twilight]

The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere
Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you, dear
Cause I wish you were here

I'll watch the night turn light blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly
The silence isn't so bad
Till I look at my hands and feel sad
Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly

I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
Cause cold nostalgia chills me to the bone
But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist deep in thought because when
I think of you I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone
I don't feel so alone

As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
(Tonight, tonight, tonight...)

I'll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again
And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh if my voice could reach back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear:
"Oh darling I wish you were here"

the art of giving

2010-02-13T14:27:00.004+08:00

I HAVE FINALLY COMPLETED MY CSP HOURS!!! wooootssss... now all that's left is to make sure the appraisal gets submitted and I complete the reflections essay to be submitted... but last weekend doing the rice collection really opened up my eyes to how generous Singaporeans are. It is one thing to watch $7 million get donated on national television. It is another to see it happening before your eyes. So here are some stories over last weekend.

This family ordered 50 x 5kg packets of rice. This ONE family that stays in a HDB flat donated 250kg worth of rice.
(was told of this story) This uncle had no rice. His flat looked really run down. But he went to take his old torn wallet and offered to give the few dollars he had left in it.
(my fav) I was about to eat lunch at the hawker center when this auntie approached me to ask when we would be going round her block to collect. as i couldn't confirm her a timing, i told her that she could drop it off at the community center where we were consolidating the rice. but that was not convenient for her. so i reluctantly said she could pass me the rice now. and she immediately ran to buy 10kg of rice to pass to me.

Seriously... do we get more misery the richer we get? This reminded me of what Jesus saw in the temple.

"As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others."

Luke 21:1-3

The old uncle in scenario 2 and the auntie in scenario 3 are true reflections of this. For the uncle, its self-explanatory. For the auntie, she lives in the neighbourhood, she works in the hawker center in the neighbourhood, her whole life is literally in the neighbourhood. Yet she is willing to donate rice to people she will never meet. I guess doing CSP does teach one a lot. I should really really learn to be more appreciative of what I have.

2010-02-06T00:35:00.003+08:00

we seriously live in a time where information spreads really quickly.

here's a funny example of me and my friends on facebook.

we all live in a virtual "interactive" world.

The early bird catches the worm?

2010-02-05T09:44:00.000+08:00

This is probably going to be my earliest post. And I'm doing it on my bro's laptop while waiting for my csp to start................. i need my sleep................... zzzzzzzzzzzzzz...........................

Anyway........... I just saw the weirdest clothing outfit while walking with my bro just now. This fat dude was heading out wearing a green singlet and a pair of green shorts. Let's clarify a few things 1st.

I have nothing against fat dudes wearing PT attires out. Except that they should be more self-aware that they don't really look good in them.
I have nothing against colour coordinating your attire for the day. But a total green outfit just takes the cake.

So here's the fun part. The singlet is an ACS singlet, while the PT shorts are from SJI. That's why it was weird.

p.s. did i mention it looked like a former teacher from acs(i) who used to be kinda muscular but is really kinda fat now?

life admin

2010-01-29T18:21:00.000+08:00

I was telling Ong the other day that I was going to do my life admin. To plan out my schedule for the next few months so I'll know when all my deadlines are and be able to try to organise overseas trips with friends.

Obviously it failed. I have yet to do my life admin. So let's recap what outstanding stuff I've yet to do. I'm pretty sure I'll not have some of them done when school's over. Or even worse, when my last summer holiday is over.

Plan out my final semester (i.e. taking note of project & assignment deadlines... )
Sort out my US stuff (i.e. throw away stuff I don't need/want and keep the rest properly)
Find people and confirm holidays... (especially grad trips)
Decide where I wanna work in future. (time running out to send out applications)
Pack/Orgainse my room

on the bright side... i've uploaded some of the last few photos from my exchange... the rest dun really need to upload la... here are the nicer ones... in my opinion...

Information Asymmetry

2010-01-23T21:33:00.000+08:00

Information Asymmetry is a situation when one party in a transaction has more or superior knowledge than the other. However, I believe that there is information asymmetry among everyone and everything, not just transactions. Between friends, enemies and even "common" knowledge. Why "common"? Because some seemingly "common" knowledge we know may actually be flawed or insufficient to give the complete picture, leading rise to flawed understanding and beliefs.

I was thinking about this because of what this invited speaker said for service on Sunday. Yes, this entry is about 6 days late. This speaker is Rev Dr David Wilkinson. He's a highly sought-after speaker in both astrophysics and theology. So he was here to share his insights on balancing both faith and science, and answered questions after.

So he spoke about a number of issues, but 3 of them stuck out. And I thought I'll just do my part in reducing information asymmetry in this 3 things. *disclaimer: you should research my information if you wish to take it as absolute truth. please do not quote me. :P*

Issue 1: evolution

So the common misconception about evolution is that we evolved from apes just because our genetic make-up is almost identical. However, that is not true. Accordingly to the evolution theory, the fact that we and the apes have almost identical genetic make-up does not mean that we evolved from them. Rather, there is a POSSIBILITY that we MAY have the same ancestors. Therefore, one cannot just conclude or assume that we evolved from apes.

Issue 2: the 'god' particle

Who has not heard the 'god' particle? It was mentioned in the book/movie "Angels and Demons". It is this new particle found by some scientist to further explain the universe. I'm not very well-versed in this area of science. Not my major anyway. LOL. But that's not the point. The point here is how everyone is making a big hoo-haa about this new found 'god' particle. However, Dr Wilkinson told us the origins of the name. Apparently, the particle is often referred to its current name because of a book. In the original transcripts, this particle was referred to as the 'god-damn' particle because of how hard it was to find this particle. But, the editor told the writer that the world 'damn' shouldn't be used in a book, and recommended it be taken out. Thus, the current name of the particle. So, the name of this particle should actually be 'god-damn' particle, because of how hard it is to find. And not 'god' particle to represent that it is similar to God.

Issue 3: the universe is made from nothing

Our faith says that God made the universe from nothing. Apparently the whole universe is in balance and there is no excess energy. Short physics lesson. Kinetic energy is positive. (if u check your basic formulas it is.) Potential energy is negative. (likewise, a good example is gravitational potential energy, there is a negative sign.) So if u do your "simple" maths. All the kinetic and potential energy of the universe will balance out. And the resultant energy is ZERO. So actually, the universe is kinda made from nothing.

Anyway, this is just food for thought. Have fun digesting it. I was too lazy to research the credibility of this new-found information. LOL. Oh yea. A closing quote. This is at the end of the book on the big bang theory. After hundreds of pages explaining the big bang, the author ended with this quote.

"this book may seek to explain HOW the universe came about. but it does not explain WHY the universe came about. "

Again, this was told to us by Dr Wilkinson. I have not read the book. So I may have quoted wrongly. LOL. But it is a good question to think about. My only answer is my faith.

If happiness had a form, what would it be?

2010-01-14T21:20:00.000+08:00

well well well well well... i haven't blogged since last year... and i have received complaints that i'm not providing reading materials for people to waste their time away......

school has started. and i'm not used to it. the last 4 months alone in US really felt like a dream. like it didn't exist. like it was so unreal. the signs that any of it was real are the new friends i made, the pictures and the memories. now i'm back to fast-paced hectic home. so fast that i've got a project presentation due next week. and i'm clearing my cip hours in 6 weeks. and i've gotta file for graduation by the 7th week of school? i don't even know if i should do any job hunting since i've already kinda accepted my job offer. i don't event know what i wanna do after i graduate. sighs.............

anyway... i started re-watching an old anime. and it is awesome. LOL. 2 seasons of Code Geass. everyone should watch it. LOL. and there was this quote which i agree with. because i believe in looking at things at as many perspectives as possible. also why i find it fun to question people's opinions and go against them. anyway. here it is.

If Happiness had a form, what would it be?

It might be something like glass,

Because one doesn't notice it normally.

However, it is actually there.

As proof, if you change the angle you look at it,

the glass will reflect light.

It will state its presence and existence more eloquently

than any other thing in this world.

Similarly, in our life. As long as we change our angle of looking at things, we'll definitely find happiness in even the worst of situations. And to not whine and be more appreciative when we're given less than what we expected. (especially grades. yes. i HAD to say it to target a specific SOMEONE. :P)

Learning to look at things from multiple angles will also help us grow to be better people and be more open-minded. But there is definitely one angle we must all continuously grow to learn to look at. And that is God's angle. Only with His angle of our life, will we be truly happy and satisfied.

p.s. i still hate the heat and humidity of this tropical place. i still think we should have a super dome to air-condition the whole country.

The "anti-wish" list

2009-12-16T16:55:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year again. Christmas is round the corner and everyone is making a wish-list or otherwise known as an "I-want" list. So I will be different. I'm going to make an "I-don't-want" list. So here it goes.

I don't want to study anymore.
I don't want exams anymore.
I don't want bad grades.
I don't want to go to/start school anymore.
I don't want to start work.
I don't want a lousy, boring, low-paying job I'm not interested in.
I don't want to not be able to go on holidays.
I don't want to end exchange.
I don't want to say goodbye.
I don't want to be away from my friends and family.
I don't want to be lonely.
I don't want to be single.
I don't want rain to prevent me from snowboarding.
I don't want rain to prevent me from wakeboarding.
I don't want to be just a fading memory.

13 days, 15 hours, 41 minutes, 26 seconds

2009-12-09T12:56:00.000+08:00

Yes. That's the countdown to my flight back. I added this new countdown widget thing to my laptop. It's ticking down to my flight out of LA. 13 days, 15 hours, 41 minutes, 26 seconds. I was supposed to be trying to study since my exams are next week. But I'm feeling lazy. Sian. So I thought I'll blog. Since I haven't done it in a while.

My room mate asks me why I bother since it's only pass/fail for me. Half of my agrees, the other half has this thing about me being too lazy to plan and do anything. I admit. I haven't been looking long-term very much and have been too lazy to plan my future. So many of my peers have like #-year plans and know what they wanna work as and stuff. BLAHS. I have missed so many opportunities because I have been too lazy to plan or to work for them. I should really get my ass moving. But I don't see any motivation. SIGHS.

Anyway. I HAD SINGAPOREAN FOOD THANKS TO GERMAINE AND HER PARENTS!!! This was the Saturday before thanksgiving. So nice to have something of home. Chicken rice, the chilli, Meepok and Wonton Soup with abalone!!!

I think I've told some people. But I guess I'll repeat it here again. Some people get emotional and extremely homesick when they have a taste (i.e. food) of home. Somehow it didn't apply to me. I was definitely happy to taste something familiar and nice. But that wasn't what got me homesick. I think its the activities that I share with my friends and family that make me homesick.

The other day, I watched a movie here for the first time. (2012, bad movie, wait for dvd) For those 2.smt hours, I felt as though I was back in a cinema in Singapore with my friends. Then the movie ended. And it struck me. This surreal feel and homesickness filled me. I think it was because it was easy to feel as though I was home in the darkness. Then, suddenly, like I'm forced awake from a dream. But it's not a bad thing here. But wouldn't hurt to have my family and friends here as well.

All of you have probably seen the pictures of the latest party. This is a photo of all who went, without the birthday girl. She was lamenting how she could never be in this picture and how rare it was that all of us were gathered for a picture. But it was a good night. Although we were supposed to have a hummer limo (my maiden limo experience), we still enjoyed our "party-bus". Apparently our limo was hit by a car, and the lame "party-bus" we got was all the organisers could get at such short notice. We all agree that they were trying to rip us off. So next time you're in LA. PLEASE DO NOT BOOK YOUR LIMO WITH LA HOPPER. This is their website.

LA Hopper

http://www.lahopper.net/

2009-11-28T19:30:00.001+08:00

was looking at the weather forecast. do i miss the rain back home? how it messes up with plans. cancels wakeboarding. i haven't really seen it rain here before. maybe once, but it was more drizzle than anything. it's supposed to rain tomorrow. i wonder how it'll be like. when it rains its supposed to snow up in the mountains. making it perfect for snowboarding. but i can't find anyone to snowboard with yet. will i get to snowboard this trip?

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

2009-11-27T10:46:00.000+08:00

The following is the disclaimer for a new sleeping pill, Ambien CR, that is only offered in the US. This is taken from their website: http://www.ambiencr.com/what-is-ambien-cr/what-is-ambien-cr.aspx

AMBIEN and AMBIEN CR are treatment options you and your doctor can consider along with lifestyle changes. When taking either of them, don’t drive or operate machinery. Plan to devote 7 to 8 hours to sleep before being active. Sleepwalking, and eating or driving while not fully awake, with memory loss for the event, as well as abnormal behaviors such as being more outgoing or aggressive than normal, confusion, agitation, and hallucinations may occur. Don’t take it with alcohol as it may increase these behaviors. In patients with depression, worsening of depression, including risk of suicide may occur. If you experience any of these behaviors contact your doctor immediately. Allergic reactions such as shortness of breath, swelling of your tongue or throat, may occur and in rare cases may be fatal. If you have an allergic reaction while using AMBIEN or AMBIEN CR, contact your doctor immediately. Side effects of AMBIEN CR may include next-day drowsiness, dizziness and headache. There is a low occurrence of side effects associated with the short-term use of AMBIEN. The most commonly observed side effects in controlled clinical trials were drowsiness, dizziness, and diarrhea. AMBIEN is taken for 7 to 10 days –or longer as advised by your provider. AMBIEN CR can be taken as long as your doctor recommends. AMBIEN and AMBIEN CR have some risk of dependency. They are non-narcotic.

This is going to be a LONG POST

2009-11-22T06:14:00.000+08:00

The title speaks for itself. Originally, this was supposed to be 3 separate posts. But because of how busy i was this week. Everything just backlogged and here i am now. So if u don't want to read them all. I have labelled the posts according to topic. "Road Trip", "You've been Served" and "Acer is Sick".

Road Trip!!!

After class last thursday night, I was whining to 3 other exchange students, who were in the same class as me and stays at the same dorm, how I feel we're wasting our weekends not traveling. Apparently they felt the same way. So we all decided to rent a car and go on a road trip to San Diego that very weekend, last weekend. I did all the driving since the car was rented in my name. :D Cause i was the oldest in the group. LOL.

It was so fun. We went to both San Diego Zoo and Sea World San Diego that weekend. I think I've seen enough animals for a long time to come. Managed to see a cool bird show and 2 rhinos fight in the zoo, and the Killer Whale (Shamu) show in Sea World. To be honest, Sea World was kinda disappointing. Only the Shamu Show was nice. In fact, it was so nice to finally drive again. I miss driving SOOOO MUCH. And the convenience it brings. OMG. Having a car here is seriously SO MUCH MORE CONVENIENT.

It also reminded me how trust is so hard to get and so easily lost. I was fairly confident i could handle US roads, but my friends were not. It was funny how Mark kept shouting "STOP!". I miss how back home, u guys trust my driving (at least most of u). If I drove the way I did back home, they would probably be screaming non-stop in the car. Sighs, I miss driving. LOL.

I think the other highlight for me, other than driving, was being a "Hero". For a while, I forgot to ask about Military discounts. But fortunately for me, I remembered this weekend. Guess what... I GOT FREE ENTRY TO BOTH THE ZOO AND SEA WORLD!!!! And I got my friends discounts for their tickets. Apparently some restaurants give military discounts too. I better remember to start being shameless and ask everywhere. LOL.

You've Been Served

Did any of you watch the movie "You've been Served"? Basically, in US, if you want to sue someone, after filing a suit with the courthouse against them, you will have to serve them. But you cannot serve them yourself. You will have to have a 3rd party to serve them the court papers for you. Yes. I have filed a small claims suit and have served the people I am sue-ing. My friends in the dorm happily willingly served them for me. Who am I serving? Hold your breath. The Long Beach State Wakeboard and Waterski Team/Club. Yes. I have filed a small claims suit with the Long Beach Courthouse against them.

What? Why? Are u mad? Yes i hear the screams. So here comes the background story. Initially, I paid Team Dues (US$250) this semester to ride with the team/club. However, they had boat and financial problems. Their current boat was falling apart and couldn't be used. And they didn't have enough money to buy a new boat. So from the time I paid the dues till November, I did not get to ride at all. And during this time they were trying to raise funds to buy a new boat. Apparently, this boat company was going to sell them a really good relatively new boat at a huge discount.

So in November, they finally bought the new boat. But their account balances was in the red. The Captains forked out personal money to help get the new boat for the club. So i was excited to finally be able to ride. I was trying to work out a schedule with them so I could ride at least 2 or 3 times a week. However that failed. And after doing my math, I realized that my US$250 was going to waste. Thus, I asked for my money back. However, they refused, saying the club funds were in deficit. I tried to negotiate either to get my money back at a later date or to be able to ride more during the week before i fly back. Both fall flat. I thought my money was going to be gone.

Then my room mate suggested filing a small claims suit against them. I thought it was a good idea. And so i did. I want my money back. Since i can't wakeboard, i want to use that money for something else. So I filed a small claims suit and have officially served them. I basically arranged to "meet" with the president of the club so my friends could serve them. The moment the president was served, he called me. He was so pissed. He wanted to meet me on the spot and "give me something special". He said i was doing something stupid and i won't win the case. Then he said that we will not meet till the court date.

Now here's the fun part. The court date is 24th December, Christmas eve. My flight is before that. LOL. So, i'm going to meet up with my dad's friend and hopefully come up with some arrangement. I can apply to get someone else to represent me in court. Either that, let's hope they wish to pay me back before the court date.

Acer is Sick

Yes. My faithful trusty acer laptop has been hit by a virus. On Wednesday. 18th November 2009. During class. I was freaked out. I brought it to the computer lab to ask for help. Everyone gave me weird looks. Getting hit with a virus is such a crime. This Indian girl offered to help. But all she did was help me download a free anti-virus software and run the Scan. OMG. I could do that myself. AND she had such a snotty attitude. Like seriously. Wateva.

After 4 hours. Most of me laptop was alright. Except that the virus was still hiding itself somewhere in the core system where the anti-virus programme couldn't pick up. So I was referred to a proper technician in the department. She was SO MUCH MORE HELPFUL and nice and polite. But because it was bad timing, she arranged to meet me next tuesday. Hopefully my acer can fully recover.

So are some of u wondering how i am able to still post my blog and post pictures? Well. That's because i got an early Christmas present! :P

Everyone say hi to jMacPro. :D

2009-11-13T06:56:00.000+08:00

I need you to not be perfect.
Because I'm not perfect.
I'm not rich. I'm not brilliant.
I'm not movie-star handsome.
If you didn't have this one flaw,
I would spend every moment of every day wondering what the heck is she doing with me.
Tom Scavo, Desperate Housewives, S6 Ep4

Whatever happens in Vegas, comes out in blogs.

2009-11-09T08:40:00.000+08:00

VEGASSSSSSSSSS. Vegas with Gerald was fun. Saw 2 good Cirque du Soleil shows, public free shows and visited most/all of the hotels and casinos. Cirque du Soleil is like monopolizing the whole strip. They have different themed shows at so many hotels. Did not spend as much as I expected. AND I WON MONEY. hahaha. Not much though. On the first day we were there, I busted $30 on slots! OMG. Those money-sucking machines. Then on Monday, i gambled again, but broke even with the money I gambled with. Then on Tuesday, I won $70!!! Enough to cover my loss. LOL.

But it was my first time gambling in a casino too. I played Slots, Casino Wars, Dice Big/Small and Texas Hold'em against a banker. I won all my money on Texas Hold'em! They have such scheming methods to make you continue gambling and lose your sense of rationality. Firstly, they give you free flow of alcohol. Anything you want. Just order. Gerald and I were at the Paris Casino gambling, playing the Dice Big/Small station. Then we ordered drinks. When the server brought it to us, we took it and just continued playing. She stood there for a while before going sacarstically "Enjoy your drinks!". LOL. We completely ignored her and didn't tip her. In fact, we did not tip ANY of the servers in the casino AT ALL. LOL.

Actually, I could have won more money as well. The stupid Casino Wars dealer. This game is totally brainless. The dealer draws a card for you, then himself. Bigger card wins. Easy. Initially, there was Gerald, me and 2 other people on the table. Suddenly it was just me and the dealer left. And I was on a roll winning, up from my initial "investment". Then he started dealing faster and faster pressurizing me to just bet, bet ,bet , bet. Before I knew it, I lost my profit! Lucky, I stopped there and just cashed out. I should have cashed out earlier.

And now its November. Time passes so fast. I have not travelled enough. I HAVE NOT WAKEBOARDED AT ALL since September. I have not played enough yet! I still want to snowboard! NO TIME. And Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Its 43 days to my flight back home. Reality is starting to sink in. Graduation is just looming around the corner. What do I want to do. I am still hopeful for an opportunity to do an internship here. Although the chances are like almost non-existent in my opinion. But that will mean I don't get to do my last semester with some of my good friends if I get the internship. Do I really want to get stuck in audit? Sighs. It's too late to try anything now. Too much sunk cost. Sunk time. Oh wells.

3 Days of Disney

2009-11-01T08:19:00.000+08:00

Some of you have probably heard that I'm going to try to apply for an internship here in US for Spring 2010. (i.e. Jan - Mar/Apr 2010) So I finally got my resume set and now I'm scouting around for internship opportunities and going to start to research for my cover letters. I've been going to the career/internship advising center of the school to get my resume done in the US-format and asked for advise on how to get an internship.

Someone there suggested I try calling the companies I'm interested in to see if they have any available for the time period I was intending to intern for. Since I was rather specific in which companies and type of internship I was looking for, I called up one big advertising agency. The HR told me that they have no openings for the period I was looking for. I started to give up. But on Wednesday, while I was having my final review for my resume, the lady suggested that I should still try to send in my cover letter and resume to all the companies I was interested in. My cover letter could catch their attention and they might offer me an internship.

Germaine also suggested on Wednesday(Day 1) that I could try to look into Disney to secure an internship. So I started checking out their website and found that they have Spring Internships. However I was not that interested, because I was still hoping for an internship in one of the two advertising agencies I was thinking about. (I still have to do my research and cover letter and send them out! arghhh!!!) So I just brushed it aside.

On Thursday(Day 2), I was supposed to skip my evening advertising class. Since he doesn't teach and only invites guest speakers. But I was glad I went for the class. The speaker that day was the most interesting speaker to date. He was the senior vice-president for marketing at Disney/ABC Family!!! I could not believe the coincidence of the whole situation. It was just so surreal. I spoke to him after class with regards to marketing internships and my situation as an exchange student. He said Disney would be willing to help settle any migration issues and passed me his namecard to email him my resume and cover letter!!!

That night I was so flustered and rushed to get a cover letter out. *SPECIAL THANKS TO MICH, JON CHAN & RAE FOR HELPING TO LOOK THROUGH MY SHITTY COVER LETTER AND GIVING IMPROVEMENT POINTERS* Personally, I still think it's a shitty cover letter when I sent it to him on Friday morning.

I wanted to send it to him before he forgot who I was. And also cause I was heading out for Disneyland for the whole day! (No more time to make it any more professional, especially after comparing to Rae's pro-ness cover letterSSS). I called him after I sent out the email, his secretary checked that he had gotten it and said they will contact me soon. Do I really want a Disney marketing internship? Will I EVEN be called in for an interview? Should I still try to send out my stuff to the two agencies I'm thinking about? I'm still lost.

DISNEYLAND!!!! Met with Gerald, Jason, Edmund, Germaine and Kevin for Disneyland on Friday(Day 3). Ricky came along and gave me a ride. We all had so much fun. Went on so many rides. Saw 2 parades and the halloween fireworks show and Fantasmic. Everything was so nice. The parks were also decroated in halloween theme.

Up next, house party tonight? LA on Sunday and flying off to Vegas with Gerald till Tuesday!!! I have 2 tests on Wednesday!!! Where got time to study. ARGH!!! LOL.

Halloween Season

2009-10-26T09:39:00.000+08:00

Duck season. Rabbit season. Duck season. Rabbit season. Duck season. Rabbit season. Rabbit season. DUCK SEASON. BBBAANNGGGG. Do any of you remember the Warner Brothers cartoons? Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck? That was what went through my head when I chose this title for this post.

And halloween season has hit the States. Everywhere is decorated with halloween decorations. People are getting their costumes. The theme parks are having Scare Nights for the season. It is such a "holiday" here. So the first halloween party (1 week early) I went to was organised by the Chinese Student Association (CSA) of University of Southern California (USC).

It was held at a club called "The Highlands" in Hollywood. Many people (majority chinese, taiwanese, Hong Kong, Asian etc) from all the universities nearby attended this party. By nearby, I mean within driving distance. An hour plus drive is considered driving distance around here. It took us about 40minutes to drive there from Long Beach.

For the first time, I actually enjoyed a party HERE. I find house parties boring. They're either playing beer pong or just standing around talking. This club party was good. The DJ played really good music to dance to. And I also felt like I was home. LOL. All I saw was chinese people. One thing though, it was tough finding a 24-hour eatery for supper after the party.

Well. Gerald and some other smu exchange students are coming over to LA next weekend. Will probably be hanging out them most of the time. After the other students head back on Sunday night, Gerald and I will be flying to Vegas till Tuesday! WOOOoooHOOooooo......
Wish us LUCK. :P

The monologue

2009-10-17T15:57:00.000+08:00

About two weeks ago, the acting prof told us to submit a 1-page personal monologue. After he has reviewed them, each of us will have to memorize it word-for-word and present in front of the whole class. The monologue could be about anything. So on Thursday, some of the class presented their monologues. A few of them struck out to me. Some were emotional. Some were quite comical.

There was a girl who talked about the unexpected death of her boyfriend 3 years ago. She was crying during her monologue, looking as though she was living through the pain all over again. It was definitely heart-wrenching. You could feel her pain and anguish.

There was this other dude whose monologue caused emotions of another kind. His entire monologue was describing this girl, showing how madly in love he is with her. It was really heart-warming and the lines he used were very cute. Like "I like how your first name sounds perfectly with my last name." or "I'm happy that you keep me up all night because you're more than the girl of my dreams." But the kicker came when he ended with this line "But we can never be together because you're my best friend." ALL THE GIRLS IN THE GIRLS WENT "AWWWWWWWW" FOR HIM. And the prof suggested to him to read/give his monologue to the girl. And all the girls agreed.

The one who went before me was this middle-aged woman taking the class with us, who's married with kids. Her monologue was towards her mother. Asking her how she could have abandoned her and her sister when they were very little. It was very emotion and she was crying throughout her monologue, and all we saw was the little girl who got abandoned that many years ago.

Thus, created the challenge for me to do my monologue after such an intense emotional piece. But I managed to pull it off smoothly. I do not know why my monologue hit me more when I was presenting it than when I was preparing it. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy.

"I miss you. I miss you all. Mom, Dad, Jon, Brynner, Mich, Ju, Ong, Sam, Peiyun, Elbird, Shuying, Ezra, Georgie, Rae. All of you. I knew I took all you guys for granted. The convenience that all of you are just a phone call and drive away. How easy that you guys were always around, in school, in church, at home. It’s definitely different without you guys around. I try not to think about it but each time I walk around campus alone, I get reminded how I could just call any of you guys to meet up for lunch or something. The late night suppers and chatting or bitching endlessly about anything. Hanging out at my place to play stupid games or checking out some cool new night spot. Clubbing away all night at Zouk, finishing off with prata. How we would just stand around forever just to decide where we wanted to go or what we wanted to do. The simple things of friendship. Mom, I know I’ve taken you for granted. How you take care of the household and me and Jon. But I still think you nag too much. Dad, I know how hard you work to provide for the family and scrimp and save whenever you can but still splurging on Jon and me whenever possible. I’ll try not to spend too much here on exchange. Key word is try. As much as I miss you guys back home, there are also two other things I miss about Singapore. One. The public transportation. It is so inconvenient to get around here. The buses take forever to come. The RLC shuttle is unreliable. It makes getting around such a chore. The other thing I miss back home. Is being the majority. Over here, being Chinese, or rather, part of the collective Asian group, I’m a minority. Although there is no outright discrimination, it’s the subtle actions that really says it all. Yes I’m yellow. Or brown after being in the sun for too long. So what? Am I going to get affected by these subtle discriminating actions. Nah. I can’t be bothered. I did not travel 14,132 kilometers to get affected by discrimination and hide in my dorm room. Yes I still use the metric system. Who cares about miles, feet, inches, pounds? I’m here to step out of my comfort zone. I’m here to experience a different lifestyle. I’m here to play. And hell yea. I’m going to have a blast and enjoy myself here. Even if it’s by myself."

Camping and Screaming

2009-10-14T04:42:00.000+08:00

Well well well. I finally hung out with the wakeboarding club. They had a camping trip from Thursday night to Sunday at Blythe. The campsite is right beside Colorado River. I was quite apprehensive about going camping. Given my experiences with camping back home. The horrid weather. The mosquitoes. And I don't have camping stuff etc etc etc.

BUT. Camping is such a big thing over here. Because everyone drives, they bring SO MUCH STUFF. They bring their grills to have barbeques every night. They bring their inflatable mattresses to lie on under their sleeping bags. They have their coolers filled with tons of drinks and beer. PLUS. The weather was so nice and THERE WERE NO MOSQUITOES.

So to get there, I was given a contact to carpool with. It only occurred to me on the way there how much trust it took for him and me to carpool with someone we have never met before. Thank God that he was normal and we could get along. I shared his tent with him because I didn't have one. But I went to Target to buy a brand new sleeping bag and a mug for the trip. However, after the trip, I brought them back to Target with my receipt and returned them getting a FULL REFUND!!! I love the return policy around here. =)

Overall it was a good trip. I finally got to know more people in the wakeboard club and hopefully get to wakeboard more. (but the weather is getting colder) But I was disappointed with the trip as well. BECAUSE I DIDN'T GET TO WAKEBOARD AT ALL. On Friday, the water level at the river was too low for the boat. So no riding for the day. On Saturday, I woke up at 10am only to find that a huge group had gone out to wakeboard. So I waited with the rest to be part of the second group to go riding in the afternoon. At around noon, when they were about to pull the last rider for his set, the boat ran over a tree stump and damaged the boat. NO MORE RIDING THAT WEEKEND. Sighs. Can't wait to get into the water again.

Anyway. On Sunday night, I went with some of the dorm people to Knott's Berry Farm. The theme park of Snoopy, Betty Boop etc etc. So for halloween, for like 1.5months, every night, the place turns to Knott's Scary Farm. With scare mazes and monsters roaming the streets and rides still open! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. Some of the mazes were not so scary. But it was funny watching the girls getting scared and freaked out. And the queues for the rides were long as usual. At least we managed to sit on 2/3 rides.

Halloween is such a big thing here. Halloween lovers will have to make a trip here during the season just to experience the atmosphere, theme parks and stuff. I'm looking forward to the Halloween weekend. Gerald is flying over too! But I haven't decided what to dress up yet! Any suggestions? LOL.

2009-10-05T11:39:00.000+08:00

[Owl City - Fireflies]

Life on Long Beach

2009-10-02T11:49:00.000+08:00

Life has been quite interesting this week back in Long Beach. Here's the list.

1. There was this middle-aged activist dude on campus on thursday. He was carrying a banner which read:"Satan's children all going to hell unless you repent." So he had a list of people who fall under "satan's children". Most I agree. But I don't understand. "Feminine Men". (maybe i should bring my camera around school from now onwards)

2. My room mate has been messing with other people and they're taking turns to get back at him. The latest, his mattresses got stolen and hidden somewhere while he was at class. It was hidden in one of the empty room's (of the 3rd floor) shower.

3. Met up with 2 Singaporeans on Friday!!! Yes. There. Are. Other. Singaporeans. Apparently there's a third one. They are all transfer students from PSB Academy in Singapore. Their program allows them to do 2 years in Singapore. And the final 2 years here and graduate. And one of them is actually Jabriel's neighbour!!! It's a small world after all.

4. Many people went home/away this weekend. Even my room mate went home this weekend. So it was abit more quiet than usual.

5. I have 3 exams (2 make-up thanks to flying back home), 1 personal monologue to write and a play to attend this coming week. And I'm still deciding whether to join the wakeboard team for a weekend trip out to the river.

The Wedding

2009-09-30T05:34:00.000+08:00

And so I went back to Singapore for the week to attend my cousin's wedding. Welcome to the family Tina! I can collect ang bao from you and Jared next year! It was a very beautiful wedding. Jared was suave and Tina was gorgeous. They make such a beautiful couple. Too bad I did not bring along my camera for the wedding. Maybe I can get a copy of all the wedding photos from them......

While I was back I managed to surprise some of you people. Although I did not manage to meet up with everyone. No time, lazy, or you were out of the country... (i.e. Albert, Ezra, Shuying...) But it was good to see farmiliar faces, eat local food and just slack. Now I'm official on exchange. Will be in the States till I head back for Christmas. Exactly 88 days. (mindef counted for me when i did my notification of leave)

18 hours of flying (each trip) is seriously no joke. I am truly thankful for SIA. There is sufficient entertainment and the economy seats are spaced decently to sleep in. Anyway, caught the movie "My Sister's Keeper". Starring Cameron Diaz and Alec Baldwin. The child actresses playing both sisters were really good. I personally think it was a good movie. Everything flowed nicely and did not feel draggy or slow. All should try to catch the movie.

The movie did teach me one thing. There is a fine line between "Letting Go" and "Giving Up". I believe that people should fight and never give up. But there will come a time to let go. And that is not giving up. Many people fail to notice the difference. However knowing the difference will help you both physically and mentally. We should then learn how and when to let go in the various struggles/challenges/relationships etc we face in life.

Last Weekend

2009-09-20T00:59:00.000+08:00

So everyone probably knows what I did last weekend from facebook pictures. But wateva, I'll still blog about it.

Friday night was my virgin experience to a frat house party. To know a frat house party, you must have connections. People who know where and when a party is happening. I know my room/dorm mates. That's enough. So everyone from my dorm heads off together to the party location. Now my impression of frat parties has been shaped by the media. It's in a huge nice house, with nice furniture, food/drinks laid out nicely...etc. I was so wrong.

The frats houses (we visited 2 that night) were all small, dirty and gross. And everyone brought their own beer and kept it to themselves. The frats tried to pool money together to get more booze for everyone. So it was kinda disappointing. And everyone's either playing beer pong or standing around talking.

However, the toga party on Saturday night was a little different. Booze was provided for. But there was security at the entrance. I guess it was because this was the party of the year for this frat house. But, the place was still small, dirty and hot. And the cops stopped the party early. Like before 12am.

But, things are getting interesting. I'm like watching reality TV around me. No lack of TV for me.

Anyway, Sunday was good. Did touristy stuff with Joyce and Adrian who drove down to LA for the weekend. Although I was of no help at all in suggesting good places around Long Beach to go to. In my defense, I have only been here for 3 weeks and public transport sucks.

Well then, I wonder what this weekend holds for me. Let the fun begin.

If Today Was Your Last Day

2009-09-17T16:17:00.000+08:00

I was chatting with friends and family over msn/phone/wateva and got reminded how much I miss them and take them for granted. It also hurts to hear some sad news. Like people feeling lonely, unmotivated...groups not hanging out together etc etc... Yes we go our separate ways, yes we try/take opportunities we believe in... I encourage that because I think I should learn to do so as well. BUT I also believe in friendship and family. So I believe we can balance both family/friends with our ambitions/goals/work etc. NO TIME is not an excuse. ITS THE EFFORT. Just like this song.

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

[Nickelback - If Today Was Your Last Day]

My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day

Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life
Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
Would you call old friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreamin' of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you finally fall in love
If today was your last day

San Francisco Trip... woohoo...

2009-09-09T14:47:00.000+08:00

Did I explain why I had such a long weekend? Nevermind, I'll just explain again. I do not have class on friday. Monday is Labor Day holiday. And tuesday is budget cut campus closure day. We have 2 more of such days. Since the economy is really bad, everyone is experiencing budget cuts, even the universities. Thus, they have resorted to closing the campus, like mandatory leave days for all the staff on campus. As such, my weekend was from friday till tuesday. On another note, the weekend for me is in 2 days. HAHAHA. Seriously, I still do not feel like I'm in school.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). Wicked musical at Orpheum Theatre. Cable Car. The Buena Vista Cafe. Aquarium of the Bay. Pier 39. Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise Adventure. Norman's Ice Cream & Freezers. Golden Gate (attempt 2). Japantown. Castro Street (Gay Street). Lombard Street. Golden Gate (attempt 3). Chinatown. de Young Museum. Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs exhibition. California Academy of Sciences. Tad's Steakhouse. Cold Stone Creamery.

There. I listed all the places I visited. The famous places I ate at. I went with 4 other exchange students. 2 Korean dudes, 1 Korean girl and 1 Jap girl. 1 of the Koreans dude had to go back on sunday morning because he had to settle other stuff. Overall, it was a very good enjoyable trip. All the pictures I took are on facebook. Too bad I had to limit myself. Because I didn't charge it before the trip. So I rationed myself and it lasted till monday.

Friday
So we bought this city pass which allowed us unlimited rides on all Muni buses and cable cars for 7-days, and tickets to 5 attractions. Obviously the total cost of all attractions was much more expensive than the city pass. And travelling will be accounted for. The 5 places we went were SFMOMA, Aquarium of the Bay, Blue & Gold Fleet Bay Cruise Adventure, de Young Museum & California Academy of Sciences. After dropping all our stuff at the hostel, we headed 1st to SFMOMA. Too bad we could not enter one level which was a special exhibition.

Later that evening, I had to convince the group to watch Wicked the musical. I was told that it was a good musical. And it was. Everyone enjoyed the musical. I recommend all to catch it when you can. It is about the "true" story of the witches of Oz. Do you all remember the story "The Wizard of Oz"? And there was 1 good witch and 1 evil witch? This musical is about their history and what happened when dorothy came to Oz. The main characters in Wicked are the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of The Wizard of Oz.

Saturday
We headed over to the bay area, namely Pier 39. Before walking over, we had lunch at the famous Buena Vista Cafe. Originally, we had hoped to get a tour of Alcatraz Island. But, ALL the tours were booked till tuesday. So we settled for the Aquarium and a Cruise around the Bay. We decided to take the last cruise at 6.45pm, since the cruise would travel around Alcatraz and under Golden Gate bridge. We thought we would be able to view the bridge with the setting sun as the background.

But. It. Had. To. Be. Foggy. We. Could. Not. See. The. Bridge. Let alone have a setting sun background. Thus, it was our Golden Bridge attempt 1. Anyways, I finally found ice cream! It was really good. And the weather in San Francisco is so cold and nice. My ice cream doesn't melt.

Sunday
We wanted to try our luck again with the bridge in the morning. But. It. Was. Still. Foggy. Attempt 2 gone. So we headed over to Japantown. Which was rather disappointing. There was nothing much to see. And the ramen lunch was so-so only. Then off we went to Castro Street. I guess there was nothing to see again because we visited the street during the day. Then we headed off to Lombard Street. The curvy street of San Francisco. It was here we noticed that the bay area was not foggy. So we tried Golden Gate Bridge attempt 3 and finally succeeded. Woohoo... Ended the day with dinner at Chinatown. Which was also kinda boring. But having a Chinese meal was good.

Monday
de Young Museum had a special Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of Pharaohs exhibition. We only had to pay slightly more to enter it. Too bad we weren't allowed to take any pictures of it though. However, California Academy of Sciences was really good and nice. Even their indoor aquarium is much better than the aquarium at the bay. They also had this indoor globe to house a tropical rainforest.

The Jap girl didn't join us for the 2 attractions but decided to start shopping on her own 1st. She really shopped A LOT. The other 2 Koreans bought some stuff. The dude was excited because he found Levi's Jeans which were so cheap as compared to Korea. I found a really really nice pair of Calvin Klein Jeans. It was only US$40. BUT I DID NOT BUY IT. I can hear exclaimations. I have a few reasons for not buying.
1. I have already spent so much for this weekend trip
2. This is only my 3rd week over here. I still have months to do shopping
3. The jeans were too long. Did not have time to do alteration
4. It will be a laundry hassle for me as the colour will run for the 1st few washes

This trip was truly enjoyable. Although it has burnt quite a hole in my pocket (or parent's pocket, thanks mom and dad), it was worth it. Now I have to save and budget properly if i want to travel around more. Going to finally buy textbooks in school tomorrow. More holes to come.

Randoms

2009-09-04T14:47:00.000+08:00

This is going to be a random post about everything. Have I mentioned I walk ALOT here? Its my current exercise regime. Walking. I have not walked so much since...erm...NS? It doesn't help that the sun is scorching hot as well. And I noticed. Its the norm to wear sunglasses. 60-70% of the people on campus wear sunglasses while they're walking around campus. Maybe I should make FULL use of mine as well. I also noticed how many middle-aged (and older) people are pursuing a degree on campus as well.

Remember how I was raving about the new dorm I'm staying at? There IS one BIG problem. We're off-campus. So we have to take a shuttle to campus for class. IT TAKES FOREVER TO TRAVEL TO CAMPUS AND BACK. It takes the LONGEST route there and back. The estimated waiting time if you have just missed the shuttle is at least 30 minutes. People have been late for class because of the shuttle.

The dorm is slowly warming up. Everyone's starting to talk and mingle with each other. Hanging out in each other's rooms. Everything's getting much better. EXCEPT for another problem. The dining hall. The meal timings are SO short and SO early.
Breakfast: 7am - 9am
Lunch: 11.30am - 1pm
Dinner: 5pm - 7pm
And the food is so-so only. Nothing to rave about.

Now for 2 funny stories.
Story 1 - International Marketing Class on Monday
Prof: We are currently oversubscribed. I believe I can add a few of you into class. BUT each of you must do something in return. This is a marketing class after all. Will you all either bring your laptop, so I don't have to bring mine? Or help with my research?
Wait-listed Students: Yes.
Prof: Then I guess I will try to be as sympathetic as possible and try to add as many of you as this room can fit.
Middle-aged Woman: How about graduating seniors?
Prof: I guess I could be more empathetic.
Me: How about graduating seniors on exchange?
Some random dude in class: That's just cheap.
Anyway, the prof called me to bring my laptop for him to use in class on Wednesday. Now I've got the class. I just need to get him to sign some form and submit it.

Story 2 - What goes around comes around
Today in one of my classes, the prof asked everyone to write down a stereotype on a piece of paper for discussion. The asian kids behind me kept joking about all the usual asian stereotypes. I thought long and hard and finally wrote one down. I wrote down a racist indian stereotype.

Later at night, i waited for the shuttle back to the dorm. As the shuttle approached, I was wondering why it was so packed with people. When I boarded the bus. It was full of indians. They live around the area near my dorm. I could not believe it. Like seriously.

Oh yeah. I have been living a healthy lifestyle. I sleep no later than 1am. AND wake up no later than 8am. I am not kidding you. I am waking up at 7/8am EVERYDAY. You guys can buy 4-D or toto or something.

It is finally the weekend. 5 day weekend. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Tuesday. WOOHOOOOOO. I'm flying to San Francisco. Let the fun begin.

The School

2009-09-02T07:42:00.000+08:00

Did I mention that my dorm is the newest in the whole school? It just finished renovation right before we moved in. So we have the newest rooms (the only place with air-conditioning), newest dining hall, newest everything. AND we have our own pool.

And I have met my room mate. Cool dude. Slowly getting to know him and the rest of the people in the hall. But the dorm is pretty boring. There's nothing much to do around. This girl across the hall from my room is intending to bring her play station and guitar hero from her home!!! I hope it happens.

Anyway, school has started. Unlike back at home, all the rooms are really old. Imagine your classroom setting, and everyone sits on those individual seats with the attached mini-table. And there are limited power points. But very few people use their laptops in class. I am still trying to get into this last class. But the prof is SO OLD-SCHOOL (and old). He does not use email OR handphone! He is so boring. Although the class is already full, he did not mind adding a few students. BUT we will have to do something for him in trade. After all, it IS a marketing class, that is his reasoning. I hope I get this last class. I need to clear modules.

I had intro to acting this morning. IT WAS SO FUN. ALL WE DID WAS PLAY GAMES THE WHOLE CLASS. AND NO FINAL EXAMINATION!!! I think this is going to be my most enjoyable class in a long time. So it is a little different here. All of my classes, except one, have 2 sessions of 1hr 15mins a week. As such, I have attended all of my classes except for my last 1. The class on thurs night. That 2hr 45mins class. Without that class, my weekend would start on thurs 1pm. But its advertising. So hopefully it'll be as fun as my acting class.

Anyway, I walked past 2 booths around campus today. The Christian Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ. Wonder if I should join either. I'll see how.

IT IS THE LONG WEEKEND THIS COMING WEEK. Some of us exchange students are going to try to plan a trip somewhere later. I HOPE IT HAPPENS.

The Move

2009-08-30T14:55:00.000+08:00

Did a set of 20mins of wakeboard, then went for the tv taping yesterday. It wasn't exactly what i expected. The water was FREEZING. Nick (the wakeboard coach) said that the water is usually 10degrees (celsius or fahrenheit i'm not sure) warmer. I think I'm going to need a wet suit the next time. Riding with Nick is kinda a culture shock for me. He screams. He shouts. He instructs (sounds like commanding to me). He drives fierce. He has a different mentality and style and learning mantra. I guess I'll have to get used to it if I'm going to stick with him.

The tv taping was for a new show by fox/sony at sony entertainment studios.
No handphones allowed.
No cameras allowed.
No noise during filming (except laughter at the punchlines).
No Natalie Portman.
No picture with Natalie Portman.
Not the show with Natalie Portman.
I had my hopes up too high. It was actually the tv taping of a NEW comedy series called "Brothers". We were part of the live studio audience of episode 4. The series is only going to start in USA sometime late September. Not the drama show with Natalie Portman. Filming an epiode of 22 minutes took like 5+ hours. It was not easy being the audience, to laugh at a joke you've heard a few times. But there were a few scenes which were re-taken to test different punchlines. I can't publish them here. Do not want to get into copyright issues.

The gatekeeper (the host who helped to keep the audience alive and energy high) did an excellent job. It is not an easy one. To be constantly on the beat, energetic and to motivate a bunch of people to be enthusiastic is not easy. Imagine doing it for 5+ hours. In between scenes, he would have to Ra-Ra the crowd, and he did it by getting different people to come down to dance each time. Before the show started filming, I was targeted by him to dance. Too bad I got nothing out of it. Like an acting contract or something. Oh wells.

I finally moved into my dorm room today. When I got into the room, one bed was already made up. But there was no other luggage in the room. And there was no one to be seen. I guess my room mate came down early to choose which bed he wanted. I still have no idea who he is. So now I have totally emptied my suitcase. And I have the room all to myself. For now. School starts next week. Let the fun begin.

The Leak

2009-08-28T14:42:00.000+08:00

I didn't originally wanted to blog. But I needed to complain/whine. My room leaked today. I had to move to a new room. Took me 3 trips to finally moved everything. Did the moving after a long day out. Tired. Pissed. At least the new room is bigger and sorta nicer. I hope this is not of things to come. First plane seat area leak. Now motel room leak. No more. Enough. Although my dorm is a new acquired property of the uni. Please. No. More. Leaks.

The Finds

2009-08-27T13:24:00.000+08:00

Today was an eventful day for me. At the same time, found many things. Here I go.

Find #1 - Kids grow up faster over here.
While having lunch today, I overheard this conversation between a mom and a kid (both black). The kid is roughly 8 years old? My estimate.

Mom: Did you pack your shoes?
Kid: Nope.
Mom: So the slippers are all the footwear u have?
Kid: Erm. Yea...
Mom: Didn't I tell u to pack your shoes?
Kid: I thought u would help me pack.
Mom: Why would I help u pack when i told u to pack your shoes?
Kid: ...
Mom: Didn't u ask if U could bring the black shoes?
Kid: ......
Mom: Then why didn't u pack them in after i said yes?
Kid: .........

Find #2 - Typical Japanese Tourist/Students
After encountering the mom/kid, 3 Jap students walked past. And they were camera trigger happy. And they were obviously Jap from their dressing. The 2 guys had the typical Jap hair stoked with hair products. The girl was wearing a black dress with a pink ribbon with fair skin as white as the whites. AND SHE HAD A DSLR. The Japs are upgrading from digi-cams. They spoke to the white sitting behind me. Apparently they're exchange/international students to a uni in LA.

Find #3 - High School kids are the same everywhere
They gossip. They bitch. They whine. They have money shortage problems. They take the bus.

Find #4 - People here are more gracious than home
I have not heard a car horn except when the car is being locked or unlocked. The people on the busses AUTOMACTICALLY give up their seats to the handicapped, elderly, mothers with young kids and kids travelling alone.

Fine #5 - Wakeboard!!!
I found the wakeboard/water-skii store I found from the internet. I alighted from the bus a few stops too late. The walk was worth it. Hope to get new gear. From there I found a contact to wakeboard. First session this friday!!! But the cost is like TOO EXPENSIVE. Hope they will lower or give me some discount package deal. Hope it goes well.
1 set is 20 minutes.
Cost at home - S$45/set
Cost here - US$75

Find #6 - Singaporeans!!!
Finally had dinner with Germaine and her parents and boyfriend. Had good food, great time and enjoyed myself. She moved here when she was little and is studying in my uni. Last sem, she did and exchange with my home uni. Now, it's my turn to do an exchange with her uni here. Nice people and really really helpful and hospitable. Her boyfriend, Kevin, drives like Zhan. LOL. I feel like I'm home.

P.S. I HAVE NOT FOUND ANY ICE-CREAM VANS!!! NOR HAVE I EATEN ANY ICE CREAM YET!!!

I think I'm starting to understand why some people may choose to travel alone. It is quite a different feeling. Quite surreal. I guess when people are alone or driven to extreme circumstances, they either find or lose themselves/something. I hope I find myself/something and not lose instead while I'm here.

The Solitude

2009-08-26T14:57:00.000+08:00

My dad drove up to San Francisco on monday morning. Since he travelled with me here, it didn't hit me how alone I would be. Until he left that morning. He woke me up at around 0730, saying he's leaving already. I walked out sleepy-eyed and still in my sleeping clothes and watched him drive off. It then hit me. I was all alone. No car. No friends. No contacts. All alone.

It wasn't a very nice feeling. I figured I would have felt this way if I left for US alone. The moment I walked through the departure gate. And the loneliness would have hit me even more on the plane when I read notes given to me. So I wanted to hide in my room all day. But that was impossible because I had to go to uni for matriculation and medical check-up.

Back in the hotel room. (pics of the place is on facebook) I quickly turned on my laptop. I found friends to chat/skype with. Hearing/seeing familiar faces definitely helped. Thanks to u guys. I felt so much better. The rest of the day was pretty boring, doing matriculation and medical check-up. But the walk back to the room was interesting. Walked through a neighbourhood and saw pretty cool houses. Most of the pics on facebook too.

AND I FOUND OUT THAT THE PORSCHE SERVICE CENTER WAS BESIDE MY MOTEL. I have never seen so many Porsches parked in one small area. I wanted to drive one off.

Surprise to ALL. I WOKE UP AT 630AM BY MYSELF TODAY (TUESDAY). Had orientation in school from 8am onwards. Pretty interesting day. Managed to make some new friends. I DID SMALL TALK. LOL. We even had dinner together at the end of the day. As much as my uni claims to be multi-cultural, the same happens. Yellow sticks with yellow. White sticks with white. Black sticks with black. Its like nature likes to sort us by colour.

So I made friends with 5 Koreans (2 guys 3 girls), 1 Jap girl and 1 German who is from a Taiwan Uni on exchange here. Sterotypes were really broken today. The Koreans are all natural, ie no plastic surgery. They said that although plastic surgery may be popular in Korea,it is not as common as we imagined it to be. (btw, I brought up the topic!). The Jap girl was not camera trigger happy AT ALL. She only took pics of the mexican food we had for dinner, and the group. I wasn't camera trigger happy either, so no pics of orientation today. Nothing much happened during orientation anyway. Only talks. And mingling.

God also has His way with me. The Korean dude whom I talked to more today is a Catholic. And he asked if I was going to find a church while I'm here. I said I don't mind. But he did say he'll prefer to find a Catholic church. Maybe it'll be an experience for me.

The orientation activities for the rest of the week includes a pool party and a hollywood TV taping adventure!!! We're going to be part of a live TV audience while watching the taping of a new TV show called Brothers! Famous names for the show includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire. I hope that Natalie will be there. MUST TAKE PICTURES WITH HER. So young. So pretty. So talented.

The Song

2009-08-24T16:12:00.000+08:00

Did nothing much today. Just drove around and checked out more of Long beach area. Ended the day having dinner with dad's friends. Forgot to bring my camera so there's no pictures of the dinner with them.

Dad is going to drive all the way up to San Francisco for work early tomorrow morning. There he'll work till friday before driving all the way back to reach back Long Beach friday evening/night. Please keep him in your prayers for journey mercy and protection for the long journeys.

Since I have time. I thought I would share bout the story in the movie I mentioned in my previous post. I watched this Hong Kong romantic movie called "Love Connected". Its bout how different couples spent their valentine's day. This particular story was especially touching and emotional, especially the way they portrayed it. If it had a title, I figured it'll be called "The Song".

Bobo (it is a HK movie after all. lol.) is screaming at Leon outside the flower shop she works at.
Bobo: "Leave me alone! I don't want to see you anymore!"
She screams that at him for a few times before handing him a note and runs back into the flower shop.

Flashback 30 days ago. Bobo is delivering flowers for her shop. She passes by Leon and his band performing. Leon is the keyboardist and the lead singer, showing passion and proficiency while singing. This passion captures Bobo's attention and they both make eye contact. After the performance, Leon tried to look for Bobo among the crowd, but she had gone on to make her delivery.

A few days later, Leon catches Bobo while on her way on another flower delivery. He passes her his band's CD and runs off. However, within the next few days, Bobo caught up with Leon and passed the CD back to him and ran off. Perplexed, Leon arranges to meet Bobo to clear things up. And we're back to present day, where Leon is reading the note after Bobo screamed at him and left.

(This is the scene which hit me. It was really really emotional.)
The narration of the note is shown with what Bobo was doing at the flower shop before meeting Leon.
"You and I belong to different worlds. You are a musician, full of passion, living in a world of music. I am hearing impaired. I live in a world of silence. I'm sorry I have to break it this way to you. I wish I could share your music and passion. But it is impossible."

The Scene
Bobo was learning how to say the words "Leave me alone! I don't want to see you anymore!" by lip-reading her boss say them. She kept repeating and studying her own lip movements with a mirror just to get the words right.

On Valentine's Day, Leon still arranged to meet Bobo, who reluctantly met him. He told her, he had found a way to help her listen to his music. He placed earphones in her ear and played the track "Silence is more than words". Bobo soon got irritated as she still could not hear anything and think that Leon is playing a prank on her.

Leon holds onto her hands and says, "Ears are not the only way to hear music. You can feel the passion in your heart." With that, he starts playing a song using her hands as his keyboard. Bobo is touched beyond tears and hugs him when he finished playing.

The end.

The Blessings

2009-08-23T15:17:00.000+08:00

I thought very hard and long for a title for my first entry. I even came up with cliche titles like "The Departure", "The Send-off", "Leaving on a jet plane" etc etc etc. But I hate cliche titles. I even thought of titles named after events that happened during the trip. Like "The Leak", "The Balance" etc etc etc. I finally settled for "The Blessings" because this journey to Long Beach was truly a journey filled with blessings.

I hope to share my joy with my friends and am not showing off what I have. I believe that everyone is blessed by God, you just have to view it from His perspective. Once we know how blessed we are by God, we must also acknowledge how undeserving we are of such Blessings.

Ok. Now the first blessing. My Family and Friends. All of whom took the effort to come down so early in the morning. Especially my Dad who is traveling with me. More of how he was such a great help will be elaborated throughout the entry. I am gonna miss hanging out with u guys. I really didn't feel like walking through the gate.
(*Those that couldn't make it to see me off, I will also miss u peeps.)

After walking through the gate. My next blessing is being able to "ride" on my dad's hard work. I could chill in the first class lounge. I could cut queue when boarding the plane and enter through the first/business class queue.

Blessing number 3. The reason why this blog could have been called "The Leak". So I was walking into the plane with my Dad through the first class gate. The usual happened when my dad showed his ticket, " This way to your seat, sir." When I showed my ticket. The following conversation happened.

Steward 1: Oh. There is a problem at the area where your seat is. There is a leak and we are currently trying to solve the problem.
Dad: Then let him sit beside me la! There is an empty seat right?
Steward 1: Er. We are still trying to sort out the seating arrangements.
Steward 2: There is an empty seat in First Class. How about you take a seat there first?
Me (Thinking): OMG... SERIOUSLY???

So i was sitting there feeling all awkward and out of place. This fat old Indian on my right is all comfortable with his shoes and socks off. The fat old Jap dude on my left also comfortable with his shoes off. But more refined with his socks and slippers and reading papers. Suddenly the plane started to taxi out. I turned and got a steward's attention. I wanted to ask if I could walk over to ask my dad some stuff. But he came over to tell me that I could move to the business class seat beside my dad. I should have stayed still and quiet. Maybe I would have sat my first FIRST CLASS SIA SEAT. But dad told me to stop dreaming.

Flight to Japan was good. Watched many movies. Slept abit. I watched this romantic Hong Kong movie called "Love Connected". Its about a few couples and how they spent valentine's day. One story was really touching. Maybe I'll blog bout it next time.

Blessing number 4. Being able to "ride" on my dad's travel experience, and hard work. He literally chased me to quickly walk out of the plane to get through the baggage check at Narita Airport. I did not realize how long the queue could get. We got out of the check quite fast and smoothly and slowly freshened up at the lounge at the Airport. When we were leaving the lounge to get to the gate, just 5/10 minutes before boarding, I still saw people from our flight just clearing the baggage check! I MUST RUN THE NEXT TIME I'M AT TRANSIT.

Blessing number 5. Upon reaching the gate, the staff were looking for the passengers whose seats were affected by the leak. I am one of them. I was given a business class seat with them. While my dad was bumped up to First Class!!!

Finally in LA. I am so glad my dad is with me. Without his rented car. I have no idea how I will be getting around and settling my stuff. Ok. This blog entry became much longer than I expected. Its 2am here. I need to get sleep. More pics on facebook.